Lewis cass miller



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L. C* MILLER. SASH PASTBNBR'.

Patented Feb. 16,1897.

4 glll 2 Sheets--Sheet 2.

L. C. MILLER. sAsH FASTWEB..

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nire STATES LEVIS CASS MILLER, OE- ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO THEMILLER LOCK COMPANY, OE SAME PLACE.

SASH-FASTEN ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 577,385, dated February16, 1897. Application filed J'une 15, 1896. Serial lit 595,557. (Nomodel.)

To all whom in' may concern:

Be it known that I, LEWIS CASS MILLER, a citizen of the United States,residing at St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented certainnew and useful Improvemen ts in Sash- Fasteners; and I do declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and io use the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form apart of this specification.

My invention relates to sash locks or fasten ers, more particularly tothat class for which I have heretofore obtained Letters Patent and inwhich provision -is made for locking either the top or bottom sash, orboth, in one or more positions, the locking means of both sashes beingconcealed from view.

The object of theiuvention is to provide simple and efficient meanswhereby the sashes may be locked in their various adjustments withoutliability of the locking means being tampered with from the outside forthe purpose of moving` either sash lso as to give an entrance from theoutside to the inside of the room.

It has also for its object to provide ellicient means for causing theopening of the top sash to be dependent upon the operation of the lowersash, the top sash when closed being locked in that position andincapable of being moved without irst moving the lower sash so as tounlock the top sash, the top sash being capable of movement up or downso long as the bottom sash holds the locking means out of engagementwith the top sash and capable of movement in only one direction, thatis, in the direction to close the sash, when the lower sash is out ofoperative connection with the Alocking means of the upper sash.

It has further for its object to provide eicient means under control ofa person in the room forthrowing and holding out of operative positionthe locking means for the lower sash, so as to permit that sash to beraised, said means being automatically thrown into operative vpositionon the reverse movement or lowering of the bottom sash, so as to en-`though either sash can be moved inl gage a part of that sash andprevent it from being raised, yet at the same time permitting it to belowered. These two features of the invention enable either or both ofthe sashes to be opened to the extent desired for ventilation withoutthe possibility of either sash' being further opened from the outside,althe direction to close the sash.

The invention has further for its object to generally improve theconstructionv of the locking means, so as to make them comparativelysimple in application and so that they will compensate for slightvariations in dimensions of sashes and frames supposed to be a uniformsize or standard.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as mayhereinafter appear the invention consists in the construc- 7o tion, thecombination, and the arrangements of parts substantially as hereinafterparticularly described, and then endeavored torbe particularly pointedout by the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,forming a part hereof, and in Which- Figure lis a perspective of side ofsashframe and two sashes in section. Fig. 2 is a side View of lockingparts for bottom sash, shell in section, and parts of frame and sash 8oomitted; Fig. 3, a detail View of bottom sashlock with shell in section,looking from the bottom of Fig. 2; Eig. 4, a plan View of bottomsash-lock with face-plate removed and guard-catch engaginglatch; Fig. 5,a detail of latch and guard-catch turned around; Fig. 6,

a perspective of the same parts separated 5 Fig.

7, a plan view of lock for top sash with faceplate removed; Fig. 8, aperspective of latch and operating-fingers separated; Fig. 9,perspective of one corner of sash, showing one form of attachingpush-button; Fig. 9a, a perspective `of portion of rack-bar shown inFig. 9; Fig. l0, a front view of modified form of bottom sash latch andguard-catch. Fig. ll, a side view of the same parts; Fig. 12, aperspective of part of a window-frame, shoW- ing modified form of lockfor top sash; Fig. l2, a perspective of plate and cam used with themodified form; Fig. 13, a perspective of roo the modified lock with topplate removed and parts broken away, the lock being inverted fromposition shown in Fig. 12; Fig. 14, a detail in cross-section throughthe pintle of parts shown in Fig. 13; Fig. 15, a detail perspective withparts separated to show more clearly the construction of pintle andattached parts; Fig. 16, a perspective of a modii'ication showing lockfor both top and bottom sashes combined in one shell; Fig. 17, a sideview of parts of bottom sash and sash-frame with parts broken away,showin g application ot the form illustrated in Fig. 16; Fig. 1S, adetail of the two latches and guard-catch removed from shell; Fig. 19, aside view of latch and guard-catch used in Fig. 1G; Fig. 20, a side viewof latch for top sash used in Fig. 1G; Fig. 2]., a front view of thesame parts, and Fig. 22 a side View of modiiied form of latch for bottomsash.

In the drawings the numeral 1 designates a portion of a window-frame,and 2 and 3 port-ions of a top and bottom sash to the frame. The bottomsash is provided along one edge with a rack-bar 4 and along the sameedge, but next to the rear face of the sash, with a cam 5, which ispreferably made at the lower end of Ya plate (3, which forms a metallicface-plate along the edge of the sash just described.

In the sash-frame, at a point opposite the rack or stop bar 4, securedto the stile of the bottom sash, is set the shell 7, which contains thelocking means which secures the bottom sash. The form of the lockingmeans shown in Figs. 2 to 6 of the drawings consists of a movable latch8, located in the shell 7 and adapted to be projected through an opening9 in the face-plate l0 of the shell, so as to engage with the stop orrack bar4 of the bottom sash. rThis latch is suitably supported in theshell so as to slide back and forth therein, for instance, by means of apin 11, passed through the latch and having its bearings in the frontand back walls of the shell, the latch having movementon thatsupporting-pin. The latch is normally held so as to project through theface-plate of the shell and engage the rackbar 4, as shown in Fig. 1, bymeans of a spring 12, which may iit in a cavity 13, formed in an offset14 of the latch, and have its other end bear against the rear wall ofthe shell, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. In connection with thislatch S there is employed what I will for convenience designate aguardcatch 15, which is illustrated as consisting of a shank 1G, whichplays in a slot 17 in the latch 8, a heel 1S, which will lie back of thelatch and play in the slot 17, and nose-piece 19, adapted when the latchis pushed inward to lie in front of the latch and engage the same so asto serve as a catch to hold the latch in its inward position and guardit from engagement with the rack-bar, as shown in Fig. 2 of thedrawings.

rlhe guard-catch is under the influence of asprin g 20, which bears atone end against the heel 18 and lies at the other end in a cavity 21,formed in the latch, a stud 22 preferably being formed on the heel so asto receive one end of the spring 20 and prevent it slipping from itsplace. The tension of this spring 20 serves to hold the guard-catch inplace, and, exerting a pressure against the heel thereof, tends to pressupward and inward the nosepiece against the end of the latch, as shownin Fig. 2, when the latch is pressed inward. Vihen. the nose-piece ispressed downward so as to move it from engagement with the front of thelatch, the expansion of the spring 2O tends to draw the guard-catchbackward beneath the latch at the same time that the latch is projectedoutward by the expansion of its spring 12. The position of theguard-catch in its retracted and normal position is illustrated in Fig.5 of the drawings.

The normal position of the latch and its guard-catch is that illustratedin Figs. 1 and 5 of the draw ings, in which position the guardcatch liesback of the face of the shell 7 and the latch projects beyond said face,so as to engage with the stop or rack bar 4, as shown in Fig. 1 of thedrawings, thus preventing the bottom sash from being raised.

A push-button 23 passes through a sleeve 24, fitted in the front bead 25of the sashframe, and is in line with the offset 14 of the latch, sothat when the push-button is pushed inward it will contact with theoffset 14 or a boss 2G, which may be formed thereon, and thus enable thelatch to be pressed inward against the tension of spring 12 and so as tomove the latch out of engagement with the stop or rack bar. As the latchis pressed inward its front end is carried back of the nosepiece 19 ofthe guardeateh and as soon as it passes to the rear thereof the tensionof spring 2O throws the nose-piece up in front of the latch into theposition shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, thus holding back the latchand permitting the bottom sash to be raised, the face of the stop orrack bar 4 pressing against the nose-piece and the spring 12 permittingthe latch and guard-catch to yield, so that there will be no bindingbetween the rackbar and nose-piece. ln this way the bottom sash can beraised to the height desired without interference with its movement. Assoon, however, as the bottom sash moves downward to any extent thepressure of the stop or rack bar 4 against the face of the nosepiece 1f)presses down the guard-catch so as to move its nose-piece from in frontof the latch, whereupon the expansion of spring 12 immediately projectsthe latch so that it will ICO IIO

Contact with the rack-bar 4, not, however, in-

tei-tering with downward movement of the sash, because the yielding ofthe spring 12 allows the latch to yield backward in the movement of thesash. The sash, however,

cannot be lifted, because the spring 12 is constantly pressing the latchoutward, so that itengages the notches in the rack-bar, and the momentthat the bottom sash is attempted to be lifted the latch,by reason ofits engagement in a notch of the bar, prevents the lifting of the sash,as is apparent from inspection of Fig. l of the drawings.

If it is desired to raise the sash, the pushbutton 23 must be pressedinward, so as to force the latch back out of engagement with therack-bar, as before mentioned,. which movement brings the parts into theposition shown in Fig. 2. The push-button 23 being located near theupper part of the bottom sash it cannot be reached from the outside. Thepush-button 23 is adapted to be turned in its sleeve or collar 24, andis provided with a lateral pin 27, so that when the button is to bepressed inward that pin is brought into alinement with a slot 23, formedin the sleeve 24, the pushbutton at other times being turned so as tobring the pin to one side of the slot and thus prevent the button beingpressed inward.

If desired, the push-button 23 might be provided with a spring adaptedto retract the button as soon as its pressure on the latch is released;but as this forms no part of the invention and is a well-knownmechanical con# struction it is not illustrated.

For the purpose of locking the top sash 2 that sash is provided alongone of its stiles with a rack orstop bar 29, and a shell 30, containinga latch 3l, is set into the side of the sash-frame, so that the latchwill engage the teeth of the stop or rack bar. This shell, like theshell 7, is set in the frame so that its face will be fiush with theframe, and it is located adjacent to the two sashes, the shellpreferablyT being formed with ears 32, which may lie in the groove madefor the partingbead between the two sashes,the partingbead being cutaway at the point where the ears lie in the grooves, as indicated inFig. l, the parting-bead being omitted from that figure for clearn'essof illustration. One form of the latch for the top sash and itsoperating parts is clearly illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8 of the drawings,and 'as there shown the locking means consists of the latch 3l, having apintle 33, journaled in bosses 34, formed on the inside of the Ishell30, the end of the latch which engages the rack-bar29 normallyprojecting through an opening in the faceplate of the shell, so as toengage the rack-bar, and being held in that position preferably by aspring 35, which in Fig. 7 of4 the drawings is shown as coiled aroundthe pintle 33. The

latch 3l is formed with a heel piece or eXtension 36, which is adaptedto be engaged bya finger 37, the shank 33 of which is suitably journaledin the shell 30, and has a pin 39 connected to it, for instance, by anextension 40, the pin 39 extending through a curved slot 4l in theface-plate of the shell, so that the pin may move therein. Inasmuch asthe iinger 37 bears against the heel-piece 36 of the latch and the latchis normally thrown outward by the spring 35, said spring, through theheel-piece 36, will exert a pressure on the nger 37, so as normally tohold its pin 39 in the position indicated in Fig. l of the drawings.

The pin 39 lies in the path of the cam 5, secured to the bottom sash 3,so that when that sash is raised the cam comes in contact with the pin39 and turns the finger 37 so as to press on the heel-piece 36 againstthe tension of spring'35 and throw back the latch 3l, so that the topsash may be lowered. It will thus be observed that the bottom sash mustbe raised for a certain distance in order to permit the top sash to belowered. Consequently when the bottom sash is closed, or even when it islowered sufficiently that the cam 5 is out of contact with the pin 39,the

top sash is locked in its position againstdownward movement andconsequently can` not be moved from the outside for the purpose ofmaking an en trance over the top sash.

It is to be observed, however, that if the top sash is lowered entirelyor partially it can be raised without the necessity of first operatingthe bottom sash, for the reasonthat when the top sash is moved upwardthe teeth on the rack-bar will press against the under side of the latchand thus throw the latch backward or inward against the tension of thespring 35, said spring, however, pressing the latch outward after thepassage of each tooth of the rack-bar, so that the top sash cannot belowered, although it may be raised. The advantage of this is apparent toany one having occasion to close the top sash. It will thus save labor,while at the same time affording securityv and protection againstmanipulation of the sash from the outside for the purposeof gaining anentranceeither while the sash is open for ventilation,

or entirely closed. Y

If desired, the push-button 23 instead of being passed through the frontbead, as before described, may be located, as indicated` in Fig. 9, atthe top rail of the bottom sash, a portion of the rail being cut away,as indicated at 4la of that figure. In this case the push-button willplay through a hole 42 made in the top of the rack-bar 4, and a slot 43may be made in that bar to receive the pin 27 of the push-button whenturned to register therewith. In this forni the con struction andoperation ofthe latch and the connecting parts will be the same asdescribed in connection with Figs; l to 6 with the exceptiony that theoffset 14 and the position of the spring l2 will be shifted aboutone-quarter around or brought to the top, as shown in Figs. l0 and ll,instead of to the side, as shown in Figs. l to 6, and a slight shiftingof the ears.

44 of the shell 7, as will be obvious to those skilled in the art fromthe illustration given.

In Figs. 12 to l5` is illust-rated a moditied form of locking means thatmay be employed for the top sash. In this form the shell is designatedby the numeral 45. In this shell is suitably journaled a pintle 46,which has attached to one part thereof, so as to turn IIO therewith, alatch 47, normally projecting through an opening 4S in the faceplate 40of the shell, so as to engage the rack-bar 29 of the top sash. Thislatch may have a side iange or projection 50 on its side adapted tocontact with the rear of the face-plate, so as to limittlie outwardthrow of the latch against the tension of the spring 5l. On the samepintle 46 is mounted a pin 52, preferably of the form illustrated, saidpin having a segmental hub 53, which fits to the pintle 4G, so that thepin will have a slight movement across the pintle, the pintle beingformed with a shoulder 54 on each side, so as to limit the movement ofthe hub of the pin on the pintle and cause the pin to turn the pintlewhen the edge of the hub is brought into en- `gagement with saidshoulder on the pintle. The pin 52 has formed on one side a flange orprojection 55, adapted to contact with the back of the faceplate 49, soas 'to limit the outward movement of the pin against the ten sion of aspring 5G, which normallyT presses the pin through a slot 57 in thefaceplate 4Q. A pawl 5S, preferably of the form illustrated in Fig. 13,is pivoted inside of t-he shell 45, so as to hang down and normallycontact with the rear of the latch 47, which is formed with a number ofseirations 59 for the pawl to engage with, so as to prevent the backwardmovement of the latch when the pawl is in engagement therewith, and thushold the latch in such projected position that it will engage with theteeth of the rack-bar 29 and thus prevent the top sash from beinglowered. This pawl 5l extends across the shell, so as to be in the pathof the pin 52, in order that when the pin is pressed back it may liftthe pawl from engagement with the latch and allow the latch to bepressed back into the shell when the hub of the pin comes in contactwith the shoulder on the pintle 46 and thus permit the top sash to belowered. The initial movement of the pin 52 permits the pawl to bedisengaged from the latch before the pin exerts its pressure on thepintle for throwing back the latch. The moment that pressure is takenoff the pin the spring 56 will throw the pin into its normal positionand the spring 5l will throw the latch 47 outward into engagement withthe raekbar, the pawl 5S at the same time dropping so as to engage withthe ratchet-teeth on the rear of the latch 47 and thus hold the same inits adjusted position and in engagement with the rack-bar, so that thesash cannot be lowered. The pin V52 is pressed inward by a cam G0,forlned as a part of a channel-plate (jl, which will be secured to thestile of the bottom sash in the same position that the plate G with thecam 5 is shown attached theretoin Fig. l of the drawings. lt will thusbe seen that the bottom sash m ustbe lifted farenough to bring the camGO into engagement with the pin 52, so as to move the same in order tothrow the latch 47 out of engagement with the rack-bar before the topsash can be lowered. To this extent the principle operating the twosashes is the same as in the form first described. 'lhe differencebetween this form and the form iirst described is that in the presentcase the top sash cannot be lifted without first lifting to some extentthe bottom sash, where, as in the first form, the top sash is at alltimes free to be lifted, although not to be lowered; but the pawl inthis second form may be omitted entirely, and in that event theoperation will be just the same as under the first form, that is, thetop sash can be lifted at any time, so as to close the samewithoutnioving the bottom sash at all, although it cannot be loweredwithout first lift* ing the bottom sash. The pawl, therefore, is not anessential element and may be omitted, except where for any reason itmight be wanted to lock the top sash against upward movement.

ln Figs. 1G to 22 of the drawings I illustrate a form of the sameinvention in which the locking means for both the top and bottom sashesare embodied in a single case or shell, the operation, however, beingthe same in principle as in the llirst form described, and theconstruction of the parts being the same, except as the differences arepointed out. In this form of the invention the numeral (52 designatesthe shell or ease containing the parts and provided with the ears (33,the shell to be inserted in the part of the sash-frame beneath theparting-bead which will separate the two sashes, which is the positionoccupied by one of the shells illustrated in Fig. l of the drawings. lnthe present form the latch S, the guard-catch l5, and theiroperating-springs are all constructed and applied and operate in thesame manner as the same parts shown in Figs. l to 6 of the drawings, theonly difference being that the offset 14, against which the push-buttonbears and back of which is the spring l2 for pressing the latch outward,is made at the top of the latch instead of to one side, as shown in thefirst form, these changes being made merely that the pushbutton may beapplied in the top face of the stile to the bottom sash, as shown inFig. 17. These are purely changes within the skill of the mechanic, andas the construction is the same the same reference-figures are used forthose parts. In the same shell with the latch for the bottom sash lmount the latch for the top sash, which in this illustration of theinvention is designated by the numeral 64. This latch is mounted so asto turn on a pintle 65, which will have its bearings in bosses formed onthe inside of the shell. This latch is formed on its side next tothelatch 8 with an oifset or shoulder (56, in front of which lies a flange(37, which extends from the side of the latch 8 and which is adapted topress against the olfset or shoulder when the latch 8 is pressed in bythe pushbutton 23, so as to throw the latch (34 out of engagement withthe rack-bar 29 of the top sash in order to permit that sash to belowered. For

IOC

ill

the purpose of normally holding the latch 64 outward under a yieldingpressure and in engagement with the rack-bar 29, so that the top sashcannot be lowered when the latch 64 is pressed outward,l employ a spring68,which fits at one end in the cavity 69, made in the under part of thelatch 64, and which at the other end will bear against the wall of theshell 62. When this form of the invention is used, the metal plate 6 andits cam 5 (illustrated in Fig. l) are omitted and the stop or rack bar 4is put in its place, so as to bring it opposite to the latch 8, thefunction of the cam 5 being served by the flange 67 on the latch S, sothat when it is pressed against the offset on the latch 64 by thepush-button that latch will be pressed back to allow the top sash to belowered, as just previously described. It will be observed, however,that the mode of operation of the parts and the function which theyserve and the manipulation of the top and bottom sash and the security7afforded by the invention are the same as that set forth indescribing'the particular form shown in Figs. l to 6 of the drawings,this particular form having the advantage that both latches arecontained within a single shell, which in some instances may bepreferred over the employment of two shells. In this form, however, itis to be noted that it is not necessary to lift the bottom sash in orderto unlock the top sash, so that it may be lowered as the top sash isunlocked by simply pressing in the push-button, so that it will forcethe lockinglatch backward, as already described. The moment, however,that pressure is taken off the push-button the latch 64 is thrownoutward, so as to engage the rack-bar 29. It may also be noted that theparts will be so proportioned that the latch 64 will be thrown out yofengagement with its rack-bar by pressure on the push-button before theother latch 8 has been pressed so far backward as to have itsguard-catch engage with the same, thus avoiding the engagement of theguard-catch with its latch and the consequent holding of its latch outof engagement with its rack-bar in the manipulation of the other latch64 for the top sash. It will also be observed that when the guard-catchis in engagement with its latch, so as to permit the bottom sash to beraised, the latch for the top sash is not necessarily out of engagementwith its rack-bar.

In Fig. 22 of the drawings in addition to the iiange 67 on the latch 8for pressing against the front of the offset 66 of the latch 64 I haveshown a second iange 70, located back of the flange 67, so that theodset 66 will lit between the two flanges, and thus move the latch 64back and forth in the back-and-forth movement of the latch 8, thusenabling me to dispense with a separate spring 68 for the latch 64, asunder the construction just described the spring 12 to the latch 8 maybe made to serve the purpose of the two springs.

I have illustrated and described the preferred details of constructionin each one of the different forms of the invention illustrated;` butchanges can be made in each without departing from the essentialfeatures of the invention.

Having 'described my invention and set forth its merits, what I claimisl. In a sash lock or fastener, the combination with mechanism forlocking a top sash against downward movement while permitting it to moveupward, of mechanism for locking the bottom sash against upward movementwhile permitting it to move downward, and means for unlocking the topand the bottom sash so that while unlocked they may be moved,respectively up and down, the portion of said means which operates inconnection with the bottom sash being mechanically held out of operativerelation with said sash in the upward movement of the sash and releasedby the bottom sash acting thereon in the downward movement of the sashso as to be thrown into operative relation, substantially as and for thepurposes described.

2. In a sash lock or fastener, the combination with mechanism forlocking a top sash against downward movement while permitting it to moveupward, of mechanism for lockingthe bottom sash against upward movementwhile permitting it to move downward, means for unlocking the mechanismof the bottom sash to permit it to be raised, and means carried by thebottom sash and in the upward movement of said sash brought in contactwith a part of the lockin g mechanism of the top sash for actuating thesame to permit the top sash to be lowered, substantially as and for thepurposes described.

3. In a sash lock or fastener, the combination with mechanism forlocking a top` sash at various adjustments and in a closed position, ofmechanism for locking the bottom sash at various adjustments and in aclosed position, said mechanism of the bottom sash comprising a latch toengage a stop or rack bar on the sash, a guard-catch adapted to iit overthe end of the latch when retracted to hold it out of engagement withsaid stop or rack bar, and to be moved from the end of the latch in thedownward movement of the sash to permit the latch to engage the stop orrack bar, and means for unlocking the locking mechanism respectively ofthe top and bottom sashes, substantially as and for'the purposesdescribed.

4. A sash lock or fastener, comprising a stop or rack bar for the sash,a latch toengage said stop or rack bar, a guard-catch adapted to Iitover the end of the latch when retracted to hold it out of engagementwith said stop or rack bar and to be moved from the end of the latch bythe sash in its movement in one direction, and means for retracting thelatch from the stop or rack bar, substantially as and for the purposesdescribed.

5. A sash lock or fastener, comprising a stop or rack bar for the sash,a spring-actuated latch to engage said stop or rack bar, a spring- IOS)IIO

actuated guard-catch having a shank, a heel, and a nose-piece to t overthe end of the latch when retracted to hold it ont of engagement withthe stop or rack bar, and means for retracting the latch from the stopor rack bar, substantially as and for the purposes described.

6. In a sash lock or fastener, Ithe combination with mechanism forlocking,r one sash, of mechanism for locking the other sash andcomprising a stop or rack bar attached to said other sash on thesidenext to the sash-frame,

a spring-actuated latch adapted to be thrown in and out from. thesash-frame next to said stop or rack bar, a finger to engage a part ofsaid latch and having a pin projecting into the path of acam carried bythe other sash, substantially as and for the purposes described. Intestimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LEWIS CASS MILLER. Witnesses:

WILBUR F. BoYLE, LON. O. HOOKER.

